Durango Colorado - Beautiful Western Town in the Heart of the La Plata Mountains - Colorado USA 2025

Durango is the county seat and the most populous city in La Plata County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 19,071 in the 2020 United States census. Durango is the home of Fort Lewis College.

The town was organized from September 1880 to April 1881 by the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG, later known as the Denver and Rio Grande Western railroad) as part of their efforts to reach Silverton, Colorado, and service the San Juan mining district, the goal of their "San Juan Extension" built from Alamosa, Colorado.

By 1885, Durango's business district had seven hotels and restaurants, eleven saloons, dance halls and stores, two bakeries and blacksmith shops, and a variety of other businesses, also boosting the town of Silverton's population to 2,000 at the time.

The Great Depression and aftermath of World War II hurt the area's railroad industry. The Rio Grande Southern lost its contract to transport mail in 1951, and soon thereafter suspended operations. The D&RGW also ended their San Juan Express passenger service from Durango to Alamosa. However, the natural scenery along their Silverton Branch had been recognized as a major tourist attraction. In turn, the D&RGW introduced the major tourism industry into the Durango area, transporting visitors up to Silverton and back and attracting Hollywood into La Plata County for a time.

Once the D&RGW ended up losing its freight traffic in 1968, the tracks from Durango east to Chama, New Mexico, and south to Farmington, New Mexico, were removed, but the Silverton Branch remained in operation until 1981 when it was sold and became the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad.

The town has a lot of history and charm. It also has many things to do and see and is a great part of the world.

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